Having the nearest to the wall scoop the lot was bad for longterm +EV. Our games generally had 10 players in, so giving the weak ones hope of scooping something for 3rd or 4th nearest was crucial in them coming back daily for the hour games. I would team up with a strong player and this pretty much guarenteed a min break even each game. We played with 10p's which in 88-92 was about a 7th of your dinner money, so a decent amount. Used to make about 2 quid a day, enough for single cigs and stuff from the ice cream van
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